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Red flood alert for the Pyrénées-Orientales and the Aude, more than 1,500 evacuations


A flooded area in Rivesaltes (Pyrénées-Orientales), January 22, 2020. – AFP

“The water was rising so quickly that we had to leave in a few minutes”: some 1,500 inhabitants were evacuated on Wednesday in Eastern Pyrenees and a few dozen in Aude facing the overflows of two rivers following storm Gloria, which strikes the south of France after killing six people in Spain.

During the night of Wednesday to Thursday, shortly after midnight, Météo-France confirmed the “red vigilance raw ”in these two departments, for the Agly and upper Aude valley sections, that is to say north of Perpignan and south of Carcassonne. “The rains, fluctuating in intensity, will last until Thursday noon, mainly affecting a large eastern half of the two departments, including the coast. The rains will intensify at the end of the night from Wednesday to Thursday, as well as Thursday morning, “the institute warned overnight. It will fall at the end of the bad weather Thursday mid-day to “200 to 400 mm of water” and “punctually a little more”, according to forecasts.

14 dead in the Aude in 2018

In both departments, school transport has been suspended for Thursday. And state services are asking parents not to bring their children to school, college, and high school. In Claira, a town of 4,200 inhabitants near Perpignan, one of the six to have evacuated part of its population, Kevin Mazoyer, secretary general of the prefecture, addresses the microphone to the few dozen people who have found refuge in the room versatile: “The level (of the Agly) has risen to 7.20 m, the risk has increased, the evacuation order is more stringent than ever. We will have to spend the night here, it is restrictive for you I know, but essential to protect you. “

The Aude was struck on October 15, 2018 by floods that killed 14 people, including in Trèbes (six dead), near Carcassonne. The torrent of rain that fell in a few hours – the equivalent of three months of rain – had left some 16,000 victims and caused 200 million euros in property damage.

The rains that have fallen in the region since Monday will, after a slight lull, double in intensity late at night and Thursday morning, Météo-France warned. The situation is aggravated by the melting of recently fallen snow, which increases the flow of rivers, while on the coast, swell and strong waves from east to northeast hamper the flow of rivers. At the start of the evening, Météo France had placed two rivers of Haute-Garonne and Ariège on orange alert.

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